Imitating Christ
By Bob Mendelsohn
A sermon given at Holy Trinity Anglican Church
Chatswood West
22 August 2004
Introduction
I’m so glad to be back at Holy Trinity today. One because this is my home church, and another because I think this message is one which will bless you. Of course it’s great to get invited to preach around the country, but it’s quite another thing to be invited back. So thank you to David for letting me address the home folks.
If you don’t yet receive the Jews for Jesus newsletter, I’d like to invite you to fill out that card you received, I’d count it a privilege to send it to your home. And I hope you will support our work financially and thanks to those who have been supporting us over the years.
We are speaking today in this series of messages from the book by Paul to the Philippians. And today’s assigned topic is the imitation of Christ. The book this immediately calls to mind is that of the medieval Prussian saint, Thomas á Kempis. But before I remind us of his views and what we can learn about this worthy enterprise in this 21st century, let me tell you another story. This one is of the young child who loves to draw. She proudly announced that she was going to draw a beautiful picture that would please her father. She even boldly told him that she was going to draw a picture of God. The father put down his newspaper and sat up. He reminded his daughter, “Honey, no one knows what God looks like.” She replied, “In a minute they will.”
Finding out what something is really like, that’s a job for an adventurer. What is Mt Everest really like? Why does a Boost drink cost me more than attending the Swans match? Is it really worth it? What is Uluru really like? OK, you get the idea. And I wonder today if you are an adventurer, in wanting to know what God is really like? This is a fair question. And one to which I do not suppose you will have an immediate answer. You might, of course. I remember growing up as an Orthodox Jew and might have given the immediate answer of “Yes, I want to know God!” But when I ponder the reactions of the Jewish people recorded for us in the Bible’s history, I might want to rethink what I would or wouldn’t do. We often made declarations but break them fairly quickly.
What about those who make the opposite declaration “No thanks, don’t want to know God. I’ve got enough trouble here with my job or with my family or …” Those might see God as an imposition, an antagonistic, angry, adversary of whatever it is you don’t want in life. God may be beyond the pale for you, not existing or at best the previous Creator perhaps, but dismissable in modern society, certainly in my society.
May I recommend, albeit I’m an outsider for some of you, that you make neither declaration. Do not trumpet your enthusiasm for imitating the Lord, nor reject Him out of hand either. But for a few minutes this morning, let us consider the person of Y’shua, about whom we are speaking, and see if he is worthy of continued attention and if he would allow any of us to imitate him. Is that fair?
[Listen to these words from the prophet Isaiah, “Sons I have reared and brought up, but they have revolted against Me, an ox knows its owner and a donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know, My people do not understand.” (Isaiah 1.2-3) Ouch. This is not a hearty commendation by God of the people of His pasture, is it?]
So who is Jesus?
One of the fascinating realities I see whilst travelling throughout the world is the imposition of culture on the person of Y’shua. In Russia he is painted as a white Russian; in Africa, he is black and very tribal; in Northern Europe he is blond haired and blue-eyed. In the south in the US, he’s well a Southern Baptist minister with proper suit and tie meeting in a Tabernacle that looks like a church building. But let’s not speak this morning about his facial features or body shape. Let’s talk about his person and his deeds. Then let’s talk about imitation.
I had no idea who Jesus was until someone told me about him. I did not grow up hearing the stories of the Newer Testament. Maybe you are like me, so let’s consider who he is.
His person
This is one of those major questions that you will find on just about any religious website of late or in the Dan Brown book the DaVinci Code. Just who is Jesus? For this we will have to look again at this section of Bible we read, Philippians chapter 2, and into Jewish culture to see what we can learn.
Our text tells us in verse 6 that Jesus existed in the form of God, but did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. In other words, Jesus was both eternal and was always God, and yet took on the form of a man.
No religious hero of Judaism ever claimed to be more than a good man, if they would even claim that much.
Jesus claimed to be God on several occasions, and this claim got him in trouble with the religious leadership of his day.
Verse 7 tells us that Jesus emptied himself and became a man. Jesus was not a man who grew up to become God rather he was always God who took on humanity, and as such could understand us and care for us. What love is this! Amazing.
His deeds
Even his sharpest critics in those days or these days couldn’t dismiss the enterprise; the activities of the Messiah. The Talmud says of a Jesus that he did miracles albeit they say he did it with magic. Remember when John the Baptist wondered out loud and sent some messengers to find out if Jesus were indeed the Messiah? What was Jesus’ answer?
Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see; the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” This answer (Matt. 11.4-5) more than satisfied John and was a testament of the messiah. Deeds and not only words. Rabbinic tradition said that the messiah would open blind eyes, lame would walk and the dead would be raised. Now here was Y’shua proving his messiahship by those deeds.
He did miracles, healings, opened hearts, extended kindness to those who were outcasts, and at the end of his earthly life was crucified. His deeds are clear according to the Bible.
Our reading just told us something awesome that he did. And maybe you saw it chronicled and graphically shown in the movie by Mel Gibson The eternal Son of God took up our human nature and became man in order to fulfil His Father’s Will. And God the Father willed that through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the human race would be saved from sin and eternal death. The desire to embrace his Father’s plan of redeeming love inspired Jesus’ whole life, for his redemptive passion was the very reason for his Incarnation.
One more comment about his deeds, and a bit on Paul’s Jewish literary style, we can see 7 steps down and 7 steps back up. See in verses 6 and following,
1)emptied himself,
2)take the form of a servant,
3)made in the likeness of men
4)appearance as a man
5)humbled himself
6)obedient to death
7)even death on a cross
The steps up are
1)God exalted him
2)Bestowed on him the name above every name
3)At the name of Jesus every knee should bow
4)Things in heaven
5)Things on earth
6)Things under the earth
7)Every tongue confess Jesus is Lord
Imitation
Is he worth imitating?
We now move to the question of imitation. Is it worth it to imitate this Jesus? After all the Bible says in verse 5 that we are to have the same attitude he had. Interviews with almost everyone during their Olympic accolades, almost before they have caught their breath, are all a bit similar, aren’t they? And one of the questions I hear often is ‘who was your hero when you were young?’ or such. What person influenced you more when you were a youngster? And you hear about former sporting heroes for sure, Maybe if we went to Canberra we would meet young parliamentarians who would cite former senators or prime ministers. If we went to Moore College, well, you get the idea. Heroes are those who imprint something on us and whom we long to imitate.James Baldwin, American novelist said, “Children have never been good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”To imitate Christ necessarily implies to relive His Dying and Rising, to relive the basic elements of the Christian paradox: dying to self leads to living for God and others.
The book of Philippians will tell us in the next chapter about those whom we should not imitate, like those who make themselves enemies of Messiah, those whose god is their belly, those who have no self-control and their life style is self-centred. In one swoop, Paul lets everyone who is focused on the things of this world have it. Don’t imitate them. But he will then teach the believers in Phillipi to follow him. But that’s for another sermon. And obviously for another preacher.
For this one, I want you to know that Y’shua is very worth imitating.
Can we imitate him?
It’s one thing, though, to hear a sermon on imitating Christ, and quite another to actually do it, isn’t it? So my final question is, can we imitate him?
To answer this I return to a Kempis. “He that follows me, shall not walk in darkness, saith the Lord. These are the words of Christ, by which we are admonished how we ought to imitate His life and manners.” A Kempis then went on to demonstrate in scores of methods how a person could strive to live a godly life and to imitate Messiah. It really is doable.
Now when I say this, I’m not saying we can be perfect, but we can approach God daily, learn to live simply and in service to others.
What about false imitation? Is is possible to be counterfeit in this?
US President (1923-1929) Calvin Coolidge invited some people from his hometown of Plymouth, Vermont, to dinner at the White House. Since they did not know how to behave at such an occasion, they thought the best policy would be just to do what the President did. The time came for serving coffee. The President poured his coffee into a saucer. As soon as the home folk saw it, they did the same. The next step for the President was to pour some milk and add a little sugar to the coffee in the saucer. The home folks did the same. They thought for sure that the next step would be for the President to take the saucer with the coffee and begin sipping it. But the President didn't do so. He leaned over, placed the saucer on the floor and called the cat.
Sometimes, we make mistakes in imitation, don’t we?
But as I draw this sermon to a close, let me issue you one final question, actually a final challenge.
Have you met this Saviour Jesus? You cannot imitate someone you don’t personally know, can you? If you tried to do that, all you would have is a smudged image, a blur, a concept, but not the reality of the person of Jesus. And God wants to be in relationship with you. He doesn’t want your milky saucer imitation; he wants you to know Him.
Right where you are, in the pew, ask God to forgive you your sins and to make you born again. Ask him to put his life in you, that he who emptied himself will give you that grace to live the dying and resurrected life in you today and tomorrow and from now on.
And be sure that the Risen One will do that.
Thanks again for listening to me today.
Actual text:
Phil. 2.1 ¶ If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
Phil. 2.2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
Phil. 2.3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;
Phil. 2.4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Phil. 2.5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
Phil. 2.6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
Phil. 2.7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
Phil. 2.8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Phil. 2.9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
Phil. 2.10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
Phil. 2.11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Of the Imitation of Christ
Was written by a Kempis
Thomas a Kempis was born Thomas Hammerken in 1380 in the German village Kempen, in Rhenish Prussia. His father was a hard working peasant and his mother a school teacher. He was sent along with John, his brother, to Deventer, a devout Christian school founded by Gerhard Groot, a wealthy man of great faith. Thomas was only 12 when he entered Deventer. It was during his school days that the Thomas from Kempen became his nickname, and thus Thomas a Kempis was born.
He entered a monastery in the Netherlands at age 20 (Zwolle), and lived there until 1471 when he died at age 91.
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